From Chav to Chic: 3 Brands That Have Transformed Their Image

Several years ago it was not uncommon to see certain fashion brands associated with ‘dodgy’ street corners, with a select group of fashion labels infamously labelled as ‘chavvy’. It therefore seems strange, several years on, that said brands are regarded as some of the most fashionable in the industry having completely transformed their image.

The labels in question happen to be Burberry, Lacoste and Hackett. Admittedly, they weren’t exclusively worn by the market in question, but this was undoubtedly what they were associated with. However, nowadays they have transformed their image and all three are regarded as premium labels that can only be purchased in specialist designer shops. Bearing this in mind, we’ll now take an in-depth look at all three brands to show how their markets have changed.

Burberry

It wasn’t too many years ago that Burberry used to be the ultimate fashion icon of the standard ‘chav’. Many sources believe that it was simply a case of the company targeting the whole fashion market – with their large advertising campaigns heavily focussing on their famous check. This meant that they were appealing to absolutely everyone and it wasn’t too long before the ‘chav’ generation of the 90s was starting to wear the company’s goods as a fashion statement.

However, over recent years they have completely turned their image around. They first started to reinvent the label in 2001 and while it took several years to achieve, they appear to have now been successful. Instead of targeting the masses, the company are now quite specific with their marketing material and attempt to model it on a classical English theme. Clearly, such a style is only appropriate to a smaller portion of the UK market, yet the fact that Burberry is now classed as one of the top five designers in the world suggests that it has been a hugely successful rebranding process.

Lacoste

Some would argue that it was unfair to place Lacoste as a typical ‘chav’ brand – as the company has always been appealing to upper class sportsmen. Nevertheless, recall walking down the street several years or go and the brand was associated with ‘chav’ culture. It was mainly the company’s traditional polo shirts and tracksuits that created such an image, although just like Burberry, this has completely changed over recent times.

For example, take a look at the Lacoste clothing at Cockney Rebel. It’s clear to see that the company are edging to that formal style and with Lacoste also the sponsor of various tennis players, they are once again known as a premium designer that mainly resides in boutique establishments.

Hackett

Hackett’s days as a ‘chav’ brand started in the late 90s and actually arose through no fault of their own. Various football hooligans were photographed during the Euro 98 tournament and unfortunately for the label, all of these people happened to be wearing Hackett clothing. A lot of people speculated that the main reason why such a large group of individuals, who were later deemed as ‘chavs’, targeted the brand was because of the emphasis on the St George’s Flag on a lot of Hackett clothing. Therefore, the company decided to remove all St George’s references from their products and suffice to say, they are also seen as one of the premium designers in the country.